Bespoke Not What It Used to Be

Tag : Tailors Chalk
These days the word "bespoke" is used to describe everything fromolive oil to bedsheets. But the term was coined by Savile Rowtailors in London in the 1600s to describe suits made entirely fromhand. That means true bespoke tailors don't cut the suits frompreexisting patterns (you know, the same way Project Runway forbids its contestants from using patterns). The suits arehand-stitched, cost around $10,000, and are obviously of the utmostquality.
But then tragedy strikes: Some retailers have started calling suitsthat aren't entirely handmade "bespoke," and a few old-schoolSavile Row–ers understandably aren't having it. So theyreported these retailers to the Advertising Standards Authority."They're misleading shoppers!" they cried, frantically waving abouttheir tailor chalk. Indeed, Sartoriani's faux -bespoke suits, for example, are cut from patterns, only roughlytailored to the customer, and made mostly by machine in Germany.(And they cost just one-tenth the price of a bespoke suit.)
However, the Telegraph reports the ASA ruled the bespoke term has "moved on" and mostcustomers "would not expect that garment to be entirelyhandcrafted." Tragic! What of the appreciation for fine fashion?How can we describe such exquisiteness withoutexquisiteness-specific words? The semantic loss here is crushing— but at least we can count on France not to dilute"couture."